Kevin Gleason and Jon Venter to make their GT Asia debut with Craft-Bamboo

Kevin Gleason and Jon Venter will make their GT Asia debuts this weekend at Fuji, with the duo driving one of the Craft-Bamboo Aston Martin Vantage’s.

Gleason, from America, has so far driven several long distance endurance races, including the Bathurst 12 Hours, the 25 Hours of Thunderhill and the Nürburgring 24 hours since he made his racing debut in 2008. 17 year-old Australian Venter, however, has so far completed two seasons of Formula Ford in his short career, but the youngster has also competed at the Bathurst 12 Hours. He also has three state karting titles to his name.

“I am thankful to have the opportunity to drive the #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, said Gleason. “It will be a new track and a new car for me so we have to keep our goals reasonable. I am aiming to work hard with the team, improve each session, and run strong races for a competitive result with my team mate.”

The team also have another car running in the race, the #97 Vantage, with Frank Yu being rejoined by AMR factory driver Stefan Mücke, who missed the first two rounds due to his AMR commitments. Last season the pair had a mixed weekend, with the duo setting the fastest time during free practice before claiming pole position for race one, with the team starting out strong, crossing the line first. However, a 30-second time-added penalty pushed the team down to fourth overall. In race two, the duo finished the race in third behind the hard-battling Audis.

“I am happy to have Stefan back,” said Yu. “We have had two great drivers in his place in the first two race weekends this year. Having paired up with Richard Lyons in Autopolis and with Warren Luff at the season opener in Korea was a great experience and they were both excellent drivers who helped the team a great deal. We are all looking forward to a great weekend and I am sure we will all make the most of it.”

GT Asia at Fuji kicks off this Friday, July 11, with the races taking place on Saturday and Sunday.